I love history too. Geraldine Brooks writes books that are filled with history but are wonderful stories as well. I've read March, which is Little Women, told from the army doctor father's POV, and it was wonderful. People of the Book and Year of Wonders, about a 17th Century plague are my reading list.

I like Edward Rutherfurd novels. He produces enormous, sprawling novels that cover whole millenia!

Depending of when in history you are interested in. I like World War Two history and I think the Winds of War is one of the best, by Herman Wouk.

I, Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves would seem to fit your bill. Based in history, but written as a novel.

Ooops. I was already breathing during WW II so that's barely history to me. Medieval & older is what interests me. Thanks for the ideas.

Michael Shaara's "The Killer Angels" comes to mind as one of THE most respected historical novels. And his son Jeffrey's "Gods and Generals" is considered a worthy follow-up.

"The Gates of the Alamo" by Stephen Harrigan is widely respected.

But these are earlier American history -- not Medieval and older. Thanks for posting that clarification by the way. In general, the more specific one is when posting a question, the better one's answers will be. :-)

So... Medieval and older?

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley is a beloved retelling of the King Arthur myth from the point of view of the women in the story.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel won the Booker prize -- though it's in the period of Henry VIII. (But still -- the Booker Prize!)

Hmmm... ok, Medieval isn't my thing. In looking around the web though the best site I found for reviews of historical novels seems to be:

http://www.historicalnovels.info

much like Flashlight Worthy, this site has concise reviews and manageable lists. Take a look.

Peter
(The guy who runs Flashlight Worthy)

"Deep Creek" by Dana Hand. Tough issues, well told story with lots of layers, great characters, writing excellent; painlessly taught me a lot about the American West/Northwest at the very end of frontier days.

One Man Great Enough by John C. Waugh is an excellent novel about Abraham Lincoln; it's a nice intro to his life and career if you are unfamiliar with it. I highly, highly recommend it!

The Regeneration triolgy dealing with the work of Dr John Rivers and the shell shocked troops of World War 1. The author is Pat Barker.

Wolf Hall, an epic novel and the first of two parts, giving a more rounded view of Thomas Cromwell , during the chaotic upheaval of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII's courtship

Anything by Bernard Cornwell...just read Agincourt. Lots of battles and descriptions of weapons. Very entertaining and interesting.

Philippa Gregory on John Tradescant

Some of the best work I've read in years is the two-volume Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation by M.T. Anderson. Shoved into YA section it is a gem of a story populated with complex characters and written with a passion for language that borders on poetry. And it will probably be one of the most educational novels you'll read in a while.

It has been a while since I read much historical fiction.It used to be be all time favorite genre. That is after I had read all of the Nancy Drew Books. I am dated.
A book that I enjoyed has stuck in my memory is 'The Presidents Lady'. I doubt that it is still in print. If you shop old book store , it would be a great find.
It really depicted the 1700's very well. I remember that the women sang certain songs in order to time boiling an egg in the fire place.
I think that the President was Andrew Jackson.The story tells about him being quarenteened for the pox. He wrote letters and they had to be held over the fire to disenfect the paper before they could be sent.

How about any of the Horatio Hornblower novels by C.S Forster?? Also, the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon has a lot of interesting historical detail. If you are not looking for a series of books to read, I would highly recommend the novel "Freedom and Necessity" by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. It's set in the 1700's in both England and America.

I second Wolf Hall recommendations and also strongly commend A Place of Greater Safety, Hilary Mantel's complex, fantastic novel about the French Revolution. Also the works of Barry Unsworth, Andrea Barrett, Madison Smartt Bell and many others who were at the 2009 Key West Literary Seminar (http://www.kwls.org/lit/pages/past_seminars.cfm) -- that list includes some nonfiction writers but mostly excellent, serious writers of historical fiction. Standouts for me, besides Unsworth, barrett and Bell include John Wray, Elizabeth Gaskell and Valerie Martin.

Someone suggested a book entitled Pope Joan to me, I have not read it yet, I just bought if from Amazon, (yes I went through Flashlight Worthy's banner page). She reads as much as I do, and she said it was her favorite book last year. It is by
Donna Woolfolk Cross.

Have you read anything by William Martin? I've read 4 of his books so far and they've all been great. The stories are told half in the past/half in the present. Try "Back Bay", "Harvard Yard" and "The Lost Constitution". I enjoyed all three very much.

There is a series (I believe it's a trilogy) called Ghengis Khan: Conqueror Series by Conn Iggulden. The first is about Ghengis's childhood and early adulthood. The second is the creation of a mighty army and his campaign against the Chin - I am halfway through this one.

I also love anything by John Jakes. The North and South trilogy, the Kent Family Chronicles, California Gold (which is my personal favorite of his, and one of my top favorite books of all time), and several other one off books.

Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. It's set in a future England where historians are people who go back in time. This one takes us back to Oxford, England, in the 1300s during the plague. This is on my list of books to recommend to anyone anytime for any reason.

Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond series is intricate and rewarding (five fat books of political and familial intrigue/adventure, set in the Renaissance, with action ranging from Scotland to Russia: "Game of Kings," "Queen's Play,' and so forth).

If you like Eleanor of Acquitaine, check out Sharon Kay Penman's trilogy that starts with When Christ and His Saints Slept.

You may want to check out Morgan Llywelyn - she is the queen of Irish historical fiction. "Bard" is one of my all time favorites. It tells of the journey the Celts made from Spain to Ireland due to Rome moving into their territory.

I, Mona Lisa by Jeanne Kalogridis

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant

My two favorites have already been mentioned, so I'll just add my thumbs up for "Pope Joan" and "Year of Wonders."